American media magnate Byron Allen has made an offer to buy the media group Paramount Global (CBS, MTV, Paramount Studios), valued at $14.3 billion, Allen Media Group’s press secretary told AFP.

Including debt, the offer is about $30 billion, the source said.

Perceived as the smallest of the big players in television and streaming, Paramount Global has been the subject of offers for several months.

As of the end of September, his streaming platform had 63 million subscribers.

Formerly known as ViacomCBS, the media company also controls CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, as well as Paramount.

Specifically, Byron Allen is willing to pay $28.58 for each voting share and $21.53 for each non-voting share.

As of 17:35 GMT, shares of Paramount Global were up 8.08 percent at $14.78 on the New York Stock Exchange.

A comedian and actor by birth, the 62-year-old African-American built a television media group from scratch in an environment where black executives were severely underrepresented in decision-making circles.

His biggest asset to date is The Weather Channel, which he purchased for $300 million in 2018.

But his group remains well short of the target. Allen Media Group, which is not listed, reported annual sales of about $600 million, while Paramount Global’s 2022 revenue was $30.1 billion.

Paramount Global did not respond to AFP’s request for comment on the offer.

Last week, several US media outlets reported that another media player, Skydance Media, was also considering a bid.

At the end of December, the news site Axios reported that negotiations were underway for a possible merger between Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery.